“This is a conversation we will be having in the near future, not just about guns, but about school safety in its entirety,” Chaulk said.
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Wyoming has not been immune to issues of public school safety.
A phone threat at Pinedale Elementary School put an emergency plan into action there.
Another threat at Star Valley High School in Afton created a lockout procedure at the school.
School districts in Evanston and Casper have also been forced to address similar emergency situations.
The Gazette talked with Lincoln County School District No. 1 Superintendent Teresa Chaulk about the district’s plan for contacting parents in the event of an emergency.
Chaulk said the district has two ways of contacting parents in case of an emergency.
“It’s vital for parents to ensure their contact information is current,” Chaulk said. “Otherwise we can’t contact them.”
The Infinite Campus program allows the school to send both emails and texts to parents with updated emergency information.
At Kemmerer Elementary School and Canyon Elementary School, teachers can use the DOJO system to send messages to parents.
“We do tests, like the one we just did a few weeks ago, and check to make sure the parents received the updates,” Chaulk said.
Chaulk also said the school district’s Facebook page would be an important source of updates during a school emergency.
“We would focus on getting the right information out there quickly, and updating it as often as necessary,” Chaulk said.
Chaulk said this information would also be posted to the community Facebook board.
It has been a little over a month since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead and sparked another national conversation about gun control and school safety.
The school board for Uinta County School District No. 1 recently approved a policy that would allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools, making it the first district in the state to do so.
Chaulk made it clear the district is not ignoring these issues.
“This is a conversation we will be having in the near future, not just about guns, but about school safety in its entirety,” Chaulk said.